A woman who threw bombs around the world, Esther Nirvana.
The questions she raised quickly became a massive scandal.
<Was it not that the previous hero was incompetent?>
<Wasn’t Victor Evans sustaining the party with hidden skills?>
<Weren’t the party members surviving thanks to Victor’s influence?>
These questions were posed.
Now, she only had to wait for the answers to return.
Esther successfully confronted the Pope by fully utilizing her status as a saint.
The Pope, Gilberto III, stood alongside Emperor Carlos as beings at the pinnacle of these three realms.
He spoke to Esther:
“Esther Nirvana. Holy messenger of the revered goddess. I was somewhat surprised to see what you’ve done stir the world. I thought you were a more reserved type of woman. The previous saint, Teresa, was the same. Does becoming a saint make one’s personality more bold?”
“I’m sure Senior Teresa also sensed the same secret as I did.”
Esther’s demeanor was dignified.
“Perhaps ‘perhaps’ is insufficient, saint. If your predictions are wrong, the emperor’s wrath will befall you. At that time, even with my power, it would be difficult to protect you.”
“There is no need for that, Your Holiness, the Pope. I will harvest the seeds I have sown. I only have one request.”
“And what is that?”
“The whereabouts of the former hero, Victor Evans.”
“Goddess worship is a religion believed by people worldwide without regard to borders. Those who respect Your Holiness are spread across the globe, providing information to Your Holiness. As the Pope, you must know where Victor Evans is.”
“…You guessed it right.”
The Pope confessed obediently.
“I know where Victor is. However… what do you intend to do if you find him?”
“I will bring Victor back. Then, I will have him undergo the Great Sage’s verification. At that time, we will determine whether my words were right or wrong.”
“…You seek a direct confrontation.”
“Exactly.”
“…Hmm.”
After a moment of contemplation, the Pope spoke.
“Victor Evans is currently in the Kingdom of Grimoar.”
“The Kingdom of Grimoar.”
“To be more precise, he is in Rudin Village, a remote area of the Kingdom of Grimoar, assisting the lord with administrative duties. With this information, you should be able to find him, right?”
“…Thank you, Your Holiness!”
Esther bowed deeply in respect and left the papal residence.
Her destination was set.
She had to cross borders and go to the Kingdom of Grimoar.
For someone who had lived her entire life in a convent, traveling alone would not be easy.
However, she deemed it a waste of space to describe the hardships she endured during her journey.
Here, it is only revealed that Saint Esther bravely continued her march and arrived in Rudin Village.
By then, Saint Esther was in a battered state.
Nevertheless, she did not stop walking.
She walked all the way to the center of Rudin Village, specifically to the manor of Count Bollanchesfor.
In the garden, she spotted a man and a woman having tea. It was Victor and Scarlet.
“That person… Victor Evans. The former hero and… currently the most watched person in the world.”
Upon seeing Victor’s appearance, the saint felt a sense of astonishment.
His appearance was completely different from Raoul’s.
He was exactly the image of the hero Esther had dreamed of since childhood.
Of course, judging a person solely by their appearance is not always right, but the saint began to have more faith in Victor because of this.
She shouted loudly:
“Mr. Victor?! Is that you?!”
“??”
The man who was having tea turned his head.
A woman dressed in a tattered nun’s habit was gasping for breath.
Victor set down his teacup and walked over to her. Scarlet followed.
“Who is it, Victor?”
Again.
Victor thought to himself, “Here we go again hearing this…”
“It’s something I hear every day from Eri Rimeary.”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
At that moment.
Just as the saying goes, “Speak of the devil,” Eri Rimery, who was working at the manor, appeared upon hearing the commotion.
She perched beside the saint and spoke:
“How many times have I told you, Mr. Victor! I told you to go with me to Lady Irene!”
“No. You stay here. I’m talking with the saint for now.”
Victor silenced Eri and focused on the saint.
“Please speak, Saint. Why do I need to go to the Empire?”
“The Empire is currently in great turmoil.”
The saint began to divulge all the truths without deceit.
“There is active discussion surrounding Mr. Victor, and no one can determine what is the truth. <Was Mr. Victor truly incompetent?> We need to answer that question. For the sake of this world!”
“Am I… truly incompetent?”
Victor recalled the conversation he had with King Grand at the Grimoar Palace not long ago.
King Grand had clearly said:
<You are not incompetent. In fact, you are a very capable person.>
At that time, Victor was skeptical of those words.
Suddenly declaring that he was competent without any prior awareness made him doubt.
However… as people around him continued to foster such doubts, it was inevitable that thoughts he had never considered began to surface.
The question, <Could it be that I was truly competent?>, was budding in Victor’s heart.
It was with this question in mind that the saint came to find him.
Victor asked:
“But… how will you judge my competency? The Zero in the State Board, boasting the highest precision in the world, has already concluded that I am incompetent. Where will you find evidence to overturn that?”
“Currently, even that Zero has been thrown into the snare of doubt. Emperor His Majesty is suspecting the National Patriotism. Not only the Emperor but the entire empire is debating whether the National Patriotism lied.”
“A lie…? Why would National Patriotism lie?”
“I don’t know. However, if National Patriotism lied, we can determine its authenticity.”
“How?”
“We have prepared a verification tool comparable to the State Board’s Zero. It is the Great Sage’s Crystal Ball. With this crystal ball, we will definitively determine whether you have any hidden powers.”
“What if…”
Victor cautiously raised a question.
“What if… even then, the conclusion still deems me incompetent? Then it would be more embarrassing for both you and me, wouldn’t it?”
“Are you afraid of that, hero?”
“What did you say?”
“Don’t you have the courage to face an uncomfortable truth, Mr. Victor? Would you rather bury the truth and live with it than uncover it? That is the life of a coward.”
“No matter what the truth is, let’s uncover it first. Only then can we design a proper future, right? And you, Mr. Victor, are not entirely without reason.”
“Well…”
“Yes, that’s right.
Although King Grand had added similar remarks,
Victor had been feeling a sense of discord since he heard the news that the hero’s party had been annihilated.
That such strong comrades were defeated by one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
That was strange.
Something…
Something had gone wrong.
Something unknown.
He was constantly worried about what that something was.
He wanted to know.
Whether he was truly the one who had been sustaining the party.
He wanted answers to the years when he was being criticized as incompetent.
…Victor’s heart was wavering.
“Wait a moment.”
At that moment, Scarlett interjected in confusion.
“What are you doing, proceeding with the story as you please? Victor is a retainer of our family. There’s no way he’d be taken away by some Empire, right Victor? You don’t intend to return to the Empire, do you? You’ll stay by our side, right?”
“…My lord.”
“Uh, yes?”
“I… I…”
Victor thought he could no longer endure like this.
Whether it led to death or life, it was time to confront it now.
“I will return to the Empire.”
“Victor!”
Scarlett was shocked and wore a desperate expression.
Victor reassured her.
“Don’t worry. I’m not saying I will leave for good to the Empire. I will go and come back. But first, I have to stop by the Empire. I’m tired of lying that I’m not concerned about the rumors surrounding me. It’s time to reveal everything within a hundred days. I will go to have it confirmed whether I truly have any hidden powers or not.”
“…R-really? Do you absolutely have to do that?”
Scarlett asked in an anxious voice.
“Yes. I absolutely must. Otherwise, I don’t think I can move forward.”
“…I see…? Then… I guess there’s no choice. But you must definitely come back, Victor?”
“Of course.”
“Th-then, you’re going to the Empire first?”
“That’s settled! Let’s go to Lady Irene quickly!”
Upon Victor’s determination, the saint and Rimea\ry cheered together.
-So it was. I don’t know how much time had passed since he was exiled…
Victor decided to set foot to the Empire again.
To uncover the truth of everything.
And when the truth was revealed, it was obvious that the world would be turned upside down.